[autom.vertaling] Een gemeenschappelijk Toetredingsverdrag voor Bulgarije en Roemenië (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission is going to state Wednesday 5 November that Romania and Bulgaria should sign a common accession treaty by the end of 2005 at the latest, in order to become EU members in 2007.

The phrasing in the European Commission's regular reports on the candidate countries, seen by the EUobserver, ties together these two countries that have made different progress towards European integration.

Bulgaria is much closer to the end of its pre-accession negotiations with the EU than Romania is.

In addition, the draft of the European Commission regular report on Romania, also seen by the EUobserver, shows that Bucharest "could be considered" as having a functioning market economy. This status was clearly given to Bulgaria last year.

But the conclusion on Romania's market economy may still be changed on Wednesday, when the report is due to be formally published.

The European Commission however states that the candidate countries will be judged on their own merits.

The document also stresses that the Commission will support the closure of talks with both countries in 2004 - as the Thessaloniki EU Summit last June also stated. The Union will support Bulgaria and Romania in their efforts to achieve this objective.

While in Brussels last week, the Bulgarian chief negotiator, Meglena Kuneva, said that the best recognition for Bulgaria's efforts would be the closure of pre-accession talks in 2004.

Mrs Kuneva also made a reference to the debate on the EU's budget from 2007 onwards, which has just begun in Brussels and which will determine the money available for both countries.

The European Commission now ensures that a three-year common financial framework for the accession of Bulgaria and Romania will be available early 2004. In line with the Thessaloniki Summit, the Commission report says that the agreement on future policy reforms or the new financial perspectives should not damage or prejudge the outcome of the remaining talks with the two candidates.

Also, Romania and Bulgaria could rely on the fairness of the enlarged EU because even after the next year enlargement, the process shall continue on the same basis that applied in the negotiations with the ten future member states.